Advocacy

WHY Advocacy?

Passage of health care reform was only the first step in modernizing our health care system. Thousands of our neighbors, especially those in our most vulnerable rural communities, will now be able to access vital health care services and improve their lives. It’s time for all of us to turn the promise of these reforms into reality. The challenges we face in expanding services to meet new demand, modernizing facilities, recruiting and training a 21st century workforce, and improving health care outcomes, are daunting.

To do that, we need you to get involved and help transform your community into a vibrant, healthy one.

What You Can Do

Being an effective advocate for community health centers and the people they serve is simple. First, learn about the issues facing our communities. The Hawai‘i Primary Care Association produced a landmark report on these issues and is a good first step in increasing your awareness: Planning the Future. You can also attend our conference to learn about a myriad of health care issues facing our state and what we should focus on during the legislative session.

Second, get involved. Write a letter to your legislator, or local newspaper, to help lend your voice to the thousands of others who want to create a better future for our state. Sign up to receive our newsletter, legislative reports, and updates, and take action when it’s needed.

Finally, spread the word by using your first, best social network: talk to your family, friends, and neighbors about what we can all create and sustain together. Use your virtual social networks – like Facebook and Twitter – to help spread the word about issues relevant to your community. Together, we can all work toward creating a system of quality, affordable health care for everyone.

What We Do

The Hawai‘i Primary Care Association represents the interests of many different communities, often with widely different needs. We present a unified voice to policymakers and the public for stronger, more effective advocacy.

Throughout the year, we work to inform and educate lawmakers and their key staff - both at the state and federal level - on issues of great urgency to community health centers and the populations they serve. We also actively participate in health care coalitions and partnerships to represent the needs of our members and to develop effective solutions to common problems facing our state’s health care system.

Finally, we work to build effective grassroots advocacy with individuals like you who care about their communities. Through our email updates, quarterly newsletter, and calls to action, we help to mobilize hundreds and create meaningful change that improves the overall wellbeing of our state.

We welcome your comments and suggestions for how we can all work together. For more information, contact us at advocacy@hawaiipca.net.

Health center staff and board members from Hawai'i Community Health Centers, along with HPCA staff, attending the 2017 National Association of Community Health Centers Policy & Issues Form in Washington DC., take a break from our visits with Congressional offices at the King Kamehameha I statue in the US Capitol.

GET INVOLVED

We need your help to build a health care system that provides quality, affordable care to all who need it. When you add your voice to those of your friends, family, and neighbors, powerful things can happen. There are a number of ways you can help your community and its health center to grow and prosper.

Attend and participate in neighborhood board meetings to learn about issues facing the local community that may affect your health center.

Volunteer to serve on your health center’s board and help guide the development of its services to the community. (The board selection process varies with each health center, as do the responsibilities and lengths of service; inquire with your health center for more details.)

Participate in grassroots advocacy. Phone your legislator, write a letter to the editor, and talk to your friends and neighbors. Spread the word about the good work being done at health centers and voice your support.